Like Glass
by x-forbiddenrose-x
Summary: Alex's parents reflect on their strained relationship. Rated for safety.
1. Father's POV

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Lake House.**

She was delicate, my wife, delicate like glass. That was why I built her a glass house. It reflected her. Still, she never really saw the adoration behind the project. She simply scoffed and went off with the children. Deep down, I was hurt. The Lake House wasn't meant to be my crowning achievement- the perfect home for my wife and family. In the end, it turned out that it wasn't.

The scenic woods surrounding the Lake House were her secret hide-away. Once I went looking for her there and found her wrapped up in a sort of fantasy. It wasn't immediately apparent, but as she gazed out from the rock were she was sitting; one could see her eyes dancing. For a moment I watched her. I hadn't seen her happy in at least a year. I whispered her name, and she snapped out of whatever beautiful daydream she was having. She snapped at me, and I retreated back to the Lake House and my study.

From that moment onward, I totally immersed myself in my work, not wanting to see the pain or anger that her eyes betrayed so often now. She became like shattered glass. My sons felt the repercussions the most, especially Alex. Eventually, no longer wanted to be in my presence.

Then one day, she left. She mustered up all the courage that resided in her petite body and left. In my wildest dreams, I never thought that my wife would ever leave me. By now, I am certain that she's rebuilt herself and probably made herself stronger. She probably has had other loves and other beautiful houses. I hope, though, that she never forgets me and her glass house.

A/N: Please R&R! There will be a companion fic, in Alex's mother's POV coming soon.


	2. Mother's POV

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lake House.**

A/N: Just for your information, this chapter is set just a little bit before Alex buys the Lake House.

**Mother's POV**

The dried leaves crackle under my feet as I step out of the car. It's been so long since I've been here. The place looks so weathered now, the flower boxes that hang have broken. Once upon a time my ex-husband made those beautiful flower boxes.

The glass structure glares back at me. It seems to taunt me. _You foolish woman!_ The Lake House cries. _You gave up so much happiness!_

"I didn't know! The eyes of my heart were shut!" I shout at the house in return. I'm glad that the Lake House is located in such a remote area, or people would've thought that I belonged in a straightjacket. Perhaps I did. I had never been the same since the last time I walked out the Lake House's door.

When I first met him, I was young, still in high school. He had a few years on me- he was in his first year of college then. We became good friends, and, one night, as I sat there, admiring his architecture sketchbook, he leaned over and kissed me. And then I kissed him back. My parents strongly disapproved of me dating a boy more than a year older than me, so I tried to forget him, although I never succeeded entirely. A few years later, I was standing in the concession stand at the movies with my then-boyfriend when a man accidentally bumped into me.

"Sorry," he murmured.

"It's fine," I rejoined, lifting my head. I froze. It was him. As in any good romance, the fire of our old love was rekindled and it all led to marriage.

In the beginning our marriage was ideal and wonderful. I gave birth to two sons- Harry and Alex. They brought so much joy into our life, or at least to mine. When not caring for the boys, I would sit by his side as he designed new buildings. He always said that I was his inspiration. Apparently, he didn't always need me by his side for inspiration. He locked himself away in his study and sketched and sketched and sketched all day and through the night.

One day he announced that he was building a house for us on the nearby lake. His "crowning achievement", he called it. He told me that the house was to be an attempt at capturing my spirit in a piece of architecture. I snapped at him, asking him how he could possibly know me. I stormed out of the room and left him to his own thoughts. When he moved Alex, Harry, and I into the house, I was shocked at the main construction material used- glass.

"A glass house!" I had cried. "Why did you build a glass house?"

"Because you are like glass," he replied. I decided that one day I would prove him wrong.

Even in my quest to become less like glass, my idealistic side won me over for at least an hour every day. Often, I would sit in the woods surrounding the Lake House and loose myself in my past memories of my husband. The first time we met, our reunion, in the first few years of our marriage were replayed like a movie in my head over and over again. I must've looked half dead to anyone who would've seen me.

Finally, the day came when I proved my husband that I wasn't like glass. On that day, before the sun had even risen, I walked out off the Lake House for the final time, leaving him and the children alone. Heaven knows how he felt when he woke to find me not at his side. The years went on, and I wandered about the country, not sure where I belonged. I went to modern metropolises such as New York and Los Angeles as well as beautiful, old cities steeped in history such as Boston and Savannah. Once, I came close to marriage, but I broke the engagement out of fear.

Now I suppose I've come full circle, for I find myself back at the Lake House. Perhaps I am like glass.

A/N: Well, there's the end of it all. Please R&R!


End file.
